"Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs"

Stuart Miles

William Shakespeare

I love a bit of Shakespeare. That quote seems especially relevant as the word "perfume" comes from the Latin per fumare - "to see through smoke." So it seems to me that romance and scent are intrinsically (not to mention poetically) linked. And that's your etymology lesson for the week. Now onto the perfumes!

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, I've got three perfumes ready to launch inspired by all aspects of love - from the first flush of an innocent crush to the hot and heady lust of a passionate liaison. So hopefully whatever your personal style is, one of these scents will be perfect for you. But what are they, you ask? Well, let me tell you about them...

First Kiss - a sweet and shy blend of vanilla and cherry blossom, touched with a hint of rose and cinnamon. First Kiss starts with a kick and mellows out into a soft, youthful finish.

Dirty Sex - clean cotton sheets splashed with musk and a dash of bay rum, Dirty Sex is finished off with a vanilla cognac tincture that gives it a warm and slightly boozy edge. This tincture is like no vanilla you've tried before, I promise. Vanilla beans are soaked in cognac for four months before the tincture is filtered for use, adding a depth and complexity that removes that "foodie" scent a lot of people associate with vanilla perfumes. This one for the grown-ups.

Petite Mort - a vampy base of caraway and cardamom with lashings of leather and honey and a swirl of cool Russian rose. This is sticky sweet in the bottle, but on my skin the spice notes bubble and pop, and the leather and rose make for a dramatic, ultra-feminine base.

All three will be available sometime next week so keep an eye on the shop! I can't wait for you all to try
them out.

Also coming soon - the Raw Brimstone line will be available before the end of January. I just need a good clear day to take some photos, which is a big ask in January in England...And I already made 10ml rollette bottles available in the shop for my perfume oils, so be sure to choose the right size when you're shopping!

And since I'm here, let's take a quick look at the To-Do List:

Perfume Stuff

Brainstorm next Raw Brimstone line - I plan to release a new line quarterly, if time allows, and I'm torn between a line inspired by poisonous plants or one inspired by goddesses. I think it'll mostly come down to how much information on the subjects I can gather before I need to start blending!

Brainstorm Spring/Summer solid perfumes - Well, I'm actually past the brainstorming phase now - I have enough ideas in my perfume notebook to keep me going for ages! So I need to start experimenting and seeing which ideas work best.

Make-over packaging - New rollette bottles, check. Next step: buy a decent printer.

Other Stuff

Salvatore Vuono

Aromatherapy course - I'm learning about nerves and muscles! It's hard, but very interesting.

Writing - I let my writing slide in 2013 and I'm trying to find a better balance between that and my perfume this year. So you may see new perfumes coming out less regularly, but since I always have a dozen or so in development at a time, I'm confident I can keep giving you unusual, whimsical, and gorgeous perfumes whilst also writing amazing books.

Introducing Raw Brimstone - and a giveaway to boot!

Ladies and gents, I'm delighted to announce that I'll be launching my new perfume line, Raw Brimstone, in late January. Each of the nine scents in this first collection is made with only pure essential oils, absolutes, and CO2 extracts, to create 100% natural, vegan perfumes. They're blended in the same fractionated coconut oil I use in my solid perfumes, guaranteeing a long shelf-life, a skin-nourishing perfume, and a wonderful, vivid scent. I've been working for months on the concepts and blends and I cannot wait to share the results with you!

So I won't - well, sort of.

I'm going to give away a sample set of all nine Raw Brimstone fragrances to one lucky person! All you have to do is a leave comment on this blog, including your email address. The giveaway will run from today (Jan 1st) until Jan 10th, so that's ten days to get your name down and be in with a chance of winning. You'll be the first person (apart from me!) to try out this new range. Want an idea of what you can expect? Check out the catalogue page for a quick glimpse.